It was Christmas in January for more than
200 students returning to the new St. Paul School at Church and 29th streets in
Noe Valley.

"We have brand new desks and I-Mac's!" said seventh-grader
Allison Wiggins excitedly, referring to the state-of-the-art, teal-colored
Macintosh computers in every classroom. "I love it."

"It's cool to be in a
new school," agreed Allison's classmate Bianca Mercado. "We've never had our
own gym before."

The students returned to their new campus, a
kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, on Jan. 11, after spending three
years at the former St. James Boys High School at 180 Fair Oaks St.

The new
St. Paul School was built on the remains of the former St. Paul Intermediate
School, an 81-year-old building razed at the end of 1997 to make way for the
new building. Because of seismic safety issues at the old school, students had
been relocated to the Fair Oaks location three years earlier, in 1994.

St.
Paul's principal, Sister Ann Cronin, who grew up in Noe Valley and was a
teacher at the school before becoming principal eight years ago, is also
excited about the new school.

"The classrooms are spacious and bright," she
said. "The windows are double-paned to keep the noise out." In fact, the rooms
are so quiet, Sister Cronin claims she couldn't even hear the children playing
outside at lunch the first day. "It was too quiet. I was relieved to finally
hear a truck go by!"

In addition to three floors of classrooms, the school
boasts a new gym, complete with basketball court, scoreboard, and television
monitors. Officially named Parish Hall, the auditorium also will house St.
Paul's after-school programs and a variety of parish activities, such as
pancake breakfasts and Friday-night bingo.

The third floor features a
combined library and "technology" center, sporting the latest computer hardware
and software, plus easy access to the Internet. "The place is wired for sound,
but we're still working on getting networked," Sister Cronin said.

The new
school is a curious mix of past and present. The architecture is modern and
streamlined. But the entrance off Church Street incorporates part of the old
school's gothic stone walls into the new structure, along with a sidewalk
impression that welcomes you to St. Paul's. A stained-glass window in the
library overlooks the new Macs in the technology center. In the Fine Arts Room,
a pile of empty computer boxes sits next to a piano that has seen better
days.

Though the move back to Noe Valley took place in the middle of the
school year -- rather than in the fall, as originally planned -- drop-off and
pickup of students was orderly and non-eventful the first day back, according
to school administrators and parents.

Frank Monda, whose son Alexander is in
the second grade, lives nearby and was delighted to be walking to pick up his
son at a neighborhood school instead of driving to Fair Oaks. "We just don't
have neighborhood schools like we used to when I was a kid. I'm ecstatic that
my son is back at St. Paul's."

Sister Cronin said the current drop-off point
is in the middle of the block of 29th Street (toward Sanchez), at the entrance
to the school's side yard. This site was picked to avoid competing with the
J-Church line or tying up traffic on Church Street. Classes start at 8:15 a.m.,
and school lets out at 2:45 p.m. (2:30 for kindergartners).

"Many of our kids
from Daly City and the Outer Mission get driven to school. But the neighborhood
kids generally walk," Sister Cronin said, noting that St. Paul's does not use
school buses.

Most shopkeepers near the school did not anticipate any traffic
problems and said they were happy about the students returning to the
neighborhood. "We're excited and looking forward to having the kids back again.
The school is an integral part of our neighborhood," said Tom Maravilla of
Mikeytom Market at the corner of Church and Day. "It's also great to see the
neighborhood put back together again, and it's nice to have the construction
done and some parking spaces back."

Cecilia DeLeon of Stellings Market, a
store across the street, agreed. "We're happy to have the kids back. We always
have sandwiches and snacks for them."

According to St. Paul's pastor, Mario
Farana, the price tag for the new school was $5.1 million. Much of the money
was raised through the sale of parish properties (St. Paul's Primary School,
High School, and Sisters of Charity Convent; see October 1998 Voice),
but more than $2 million came from private donations.

"We had over 2,000
people who contributed private donations, in large and small amounts," Father
Farana said.

The school project also had strong neighborhood support. "We've
gotten favorable responses from the neighborhood, and we want to make St.
Paul's more of a neighborhood school as time goes on."

Father Farana is
arranging the date for an official dedication of the new school, with the
Catholic archbishop presiding, sometime this spring or early summer.

To find
out more about St. Paul School, at 1690 Church St., call 648-2055.